Birmingham wins battle for HS2 College

THE new National College for High Speed Rail is to be split between Birmingham and Doncaster, the government has announced.

Four areas had bid for the right to host the college – Birmingham, Doncaster, Manchester and Derby.

The college, due to open in 2017, will be based at Birmingham’s Science Park, while in Yorkshire it is destined for Doncaster’s Lakeside Campus.

The new college ‘hub’ and a number of ‘spokes’ based across the country will provide training to the next generation of engineers working on the HS2 project and beyond.

The government said the quality of bids had been very high overall and all had been assessed against a range of criteria including the size and availability of a suitable site, accessibility, and the potential to develop strong links with employers and providers already operating in the sector.

The Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership said the Birmingham bid would have the provision to train thousands of people in the skills necessary to deliver the HS2 project.

Led by a private sector steering group, the Birmingham bid also enjoyed the support of a network of almost 60 businesses involved in rail and construction.

Alongside Birmingham City Council, it also harnesses the talents and resources of the nine FE colleges involved in the Greater Birmingham & Solihull FE Consortium and the LEP’s three universities.

 

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